Vehicle bodies having a roof opening or other opening that is selectively closed and opened by a plurality of interconnected panels are disclosed by U.S. Pat. Nos.: 817,562; 2,248,538; 2,973,990; and 4,157,845.
As disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,695,090, the prior art also includes a vehicle roof opening that is selectively closed and opened by an an externally retractable sunroof assembly that extends laterally in the closed position between upper edges of associated vehicle side doors with a door-to-door construction.
Conventional vehicle sunroofs are mounted within a roof opening that is located between side rails of the vehicle body roof and have previously included sunshades that enable the sunroof panel to be transparent so that the environment can be viewed from the occupant compartment while still providing shading from the sun when necessary. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos.: 3,964,784; 4,018,476; 4,175,784; 4,274,672; 4,312,533; 4,320,921; 4,337,975; 4,671,564; 4,679,846; 4,702,518; and 4,717,200. Such sunshades are generally planar and limit the size roof opening which can be shaded or opened for viewing.
Other vehicle sunshades, sunshields, and antiglare shields that are primarily utilized with vehicle windshields, side windows, or back windows are disclosed by U.S. Pat. Nos.: 1,427,038; 1,441,501; 1,455,475; 1,637,763; 2,328,263; 2,561,188; 2,723,714; 2,855,241; 2,874,770; 2,927,819; 3,183,033; 3,363,666; 3,412,506; 3,584,910; 4,335,773; 4,428,412; 4,558,899; 4,647,102; 4,707,018; and 4,674,789.
Architectural window sunshades having edges which are guided during movement between open and closed positions are disclosed by U.S. Pat. Nos.: 1,393,405; 1,425,484; 2,580,776; 2,921,628; 4,220,189; 4,458,739; 4,597,430; 4,610,292; 4,638,844; and 4,702,297.